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Keep More Freelance Writing Clients With This Communication Strategy — Transcript

by Mandy Ellis · 3,216 words · 436 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00you're not just in the writing business
0:01you're also in the client relationship
0:04business you need to be able to talk to
0:05your clients and these specific
0:08strategies are really effective so that
0:10you can handle awkward or weird things
0:12or feedback or different ways to handle
0:16the everyday stuff that comes up as a
0:18freelance writer I'm mandelis and I
0:20built a six figure freelance writing
0:21business and now I help other freelance
0:24writers build High earning businesses
0:25they adore without the burnout overwhelm
0:27or stress and I'm here to help you
0:30understand how to connect with your
0:31clients to make clear next steps to
0:34avoid weird things and to actually enjoy
0:37your time working with your your clients
0:39this is how we get those great long-term
0:41relationships so we're just going to hop
0:43into it we're going to go six to one so
0:44number six here we want to make sure
0:46that we always outline our expectations
0:49so we have our contract to do this you
0:51need to always make sure that you work
0:53with a contract this is something that I
0:55feel like a lot of writers just bypass
0:58they're like well you know the client
0:59says they don't use contracts or I don't
1:01have a contract so like I can't do that
1:04and I think when things go wrong because
1:06they will go wrong when things get
1:08messed up the project scope you try to
1:10get you have scope creep or uh you need
1:13to double check something or you thought
1:14you were getting paid here when you're
1:16not that's what the contract is for the
1:18contract is the agreement between you
1:20two to abide by doing the project in the
1:24right way so when we're kind of looking
1:27through all of these pieces to outline
1:29expect expectations your contract is a
1:32really effective communication strategy
1:34or communication tool to outline
1:36boundaries and expectations with your
1:38client so we are making sure that we
1:41have payment terms we have the right uh
1:44Clauses in there for rights we outline
1:46what the scope is we we write uh put in
1:48there what all the legal stuff that like
1:50if something goes wrong here's the legal
1:51stuff and then they sign it so we have
1:54something that we can enforce if they're
1:55not paying for the work or if we need to
1:59you know deal with it legally which is
2:01very rare if you needed to deal with it
2:03legally but if it happens you know now
2:05you have something that you can actually
2:07use to move forward with um we also are
2:12um setting things in the contract
2:14there's a couple things I want to make
2:15sure that um you have the contract but
2:17you set other things outside the
2:19contract so for me I like to set actual
2:22deadlines the dates that things are due
2:24outside the contract because it always
2:26changes you set a deadline and then
2:28someone doesn't pay you on the right
2:29time time frame or they want to add XYZ
2:32thing or this thing happens and just
2:34putting the deadlines in the contract
2:35for me ends up being a mess because
2:38let's say you don't abide by the the
2:40contract or the uh deadline in the
2:42contract now it's like what else are you
2:44not abiding by in the contract so for me
2:46I like to keep those out of the contract
2:48uh I like to have payment terms in there
2:50and how much they're paying and when it
2:51you know when those things are due like
2:53the net terms uh the legal stuff the
2:56project scope uh all the things that are
2:59important in a contract track but for me
3:00I like to leave deadlines outside um and
3:03anything that is variable anything that
3:05could change anything that not the
3:07project scope but anything that could
3:08change that is usually something we
3:10could discuss via email or during a
3:12meeting I think it's better to leave
3:13those out of the contract but anything
3:15where like you really want strict
3:17adherence to it uh that's really
3:19important so you want to make sure you
3:20have that contract every single time to
3:22outline expectations and boundaries with
3:24your client you can also put your like
3:27in terms of boundaries you can put your
3:28work hours can put like hey expect a 48
3:31hour response time you can put things
3:33like if you um ask for less than a 7-Day
3:37turnaround you're subject to a rush fee
3:39you can tell them that there's interest
3:41due if they don't pay things on time all
3:43this stuff that really helps you set
3:44boundaries and protect your business so
3:46that's really important number five here
3:48number five you need to be clear direct
3:51transparent and honest do not lie to
3:53your clients do not exaggerate things um
3:55I think that we want to have our clients
3:58feel like they are getting that you know
4:00plush Four Seasons or like Ritz Carlton
4:03service but you also want to be
4:05realistic so don't over embellish the
4:07process over embellish things where it
4:10ends up being like they were expecting
4:13you know this Ritz Carlton at like a
4:15Motel 6 price so you want to be very
4:17careful but you always want to be clear
4:19direct and honest with your clients and
4:21you want to be as transparent as
4:22possible the better that you can be at
4:25this these four things clear direct
4:27transparent and honest the more your
4:29clients will do that for you there won't
4:31be this weird runaround there won't be
4:32as many Tire kickers there won't be as
4:34many people where you're like oh my God
4:36I got to get out of this contract um you
4:38want to make sure that you're not
4:40overdoing it just to sell something or
4:43just to get a project you want to be
4:46setting expectations and tell them what
4:48your deadline schedule is and be
4:50realistic with them um while still you
4:53know highlighting the benefits of
4:54working with you and you know the goals
4:56that you can achieve and things they can
4:58drive towards while working on content
5:01and in terms of being realistic you also
5:03want to make sure you're asking the
5:04right questions on on your calls and in
5:07your eils to be clear direct honest and
5:09transparent so if you grab my free
5:11seasoned veteran cheat sheet if you go
5:13to mandel.com Che sheet you will get
5:15some questions to ask on those client
5:17calls to make sure you're on the same
5:18page and that you're getting honest and
5:20direct answers to things so that you can
5:22find personality fit with your clients
5:24so if you go to mandel.com sheet you can
5:26grab it it'll also give you some
5:28onboarding things so once you decide
5:30this client is a good one to continue
5:32onboarding it'll give you the steps that
5:34you need to follow to onboard them
5:35properly number four here number four so
5:39we we need to figure out where we're
5:41going to talk to them right one of the
5:42communication strategies is like are we
5:44on email are we on LinkedIn DMS are we
5:46on Twitter DMS are we on Slack are we
5:48sending voice notes how does this work
5:51so this is something I like to sus out
5:52on a client call so I want to make sure
5:54that however I'm talking to them is very
5:57clear where I don't have to go to Six
5:59different channels that's one of my
6:01major pet peeves is when someone's like
6:03oh well I'm going to send you an email
6:04but then if you don't answer that email
6:06I'm going to go reply on LinkedIn and
6:08then I'm going to go to slack or what
6:09ends up happening is they just put it
6:11wherever they are right so let's say
6:13right now they're in their inbox so they
6:14email you another time they're on slack
6:16so they do that no we have one channel
6:19I'm not going to all the channels to
6:20find things because it makes a huge mess
6:22so you need to figure out where you're
6:24going to do that where you're going to
6:25mainly communicate and then you're also
6:27going to figure out where are you going
6:29to submit work are you going to just
6:30share it with them on Google Docs do you
6:32have a folder are you putting it in
6:34Dropbox are you emailing it um we need
6:36to set the expectations of like how that
6:38works because when we have this
6:40communication it's really easy for them
6:42to say like it's always emailed right we
6:44talk we speak through email she emails
6:45in the work the the invoices come via
6:48email and this is where I'm putting
6:49feedback edits and comments so it's very
6:52clear to meet your clients expectations
6:54how to do that why to do that and that
6:57makes the project really successful so
6:59we want be careful here specifically
7:01with like opening up too many lines of
7:04communication so be careful about giving
7:06text message or phone access or um Voxer
7:10hours at all times so you want to be
7:12careful about clients who are like text
7:14me over the weekend or like you know
7:16they're uh want to just call you all the
7:18time or send you Voxer notes and expect
7:21you to get back to them immediately like
7:23that's more full-time employee stuff we
7:25want to be careful with clients not
7:27overdoing that you want to pick the
7:28channels that make the most sense turn
7:30in your work on the channel That makes
7:32the most sense have a process defined
7:34for how they can give you feedback and
7:36edits and who can do that um so you want
7:39to be really careful about that now if
7:40you're working with magazines they
7:42usually have some way to do it they'll
7:43tell you what to do hey you need to go
7:45submit your article through this portal
7:47go put your invoice in this portal or do
7:49everything via email and make sure it's
7:51not in Google Docs it's in a Microsoft
7:53Word dock or something so you want to
7:55make sure that you kind of pay attention
7:57to the processes but if you're not not
7:59working with magazines who have very
8:01well-defined processes most of the time
8:03with your clients especially when you're
8:05communicating between turning in work or
8:07just your daily or weekly Communications
8:09or getting feedback that needs to be
8:11clearly mapped out because it really
8:13helps you zero in on just doing the work
8:15rather than searching all these
8:16different things trying to find out
8:18where was that message and where were
8:19those edits and where's that thing um it
8:21can get really messy really quickly
8:23number three number three so if you need
8:26a deadline extension this happens all
8:28the time if you need a deadline
8:29extension email your editor or your
8:32client as soon as possible um editors
8:35know and and clients know business
8:37clients know that things come up they
8:39know that there are emergencies they
8:41know that um something happens but what
8:43they really like and what they really
8:45appreciate is just being informed you
8:48don't want to miss your deadline and
8:49then say like oh well I needed an
8:51extension this thing happened quickly
8:53like we have so many tools at our
8:55disposal Now quickly send an email um to
8:58someone and just say hey I need an you
9:00know uh I had an emergency you don't
9:01have to tell them your whole life story
9:03you can just say hey something came up
9:05uh you know I'm having an emergency and
9:07I need a deadline extension until blah
9:09blah blah date right make sure you you
9:11suggest something in there because that
9:13helps them see like the level of the
9:15emergency or it helps them see like okay
9:17you know it's not Friday but Monday I
9:19could deal with Monday so make sure when
9:21something happens you ask for a deadline
9:23extension the caveat here is that you
9:26cannot agree to an extension with a
9:28magazine some times like they give you a
9:30month sometimes to do something and then
9:32you can't wait till the day of and say I
9:34need two more weeks you need you can't
9:36do that so you need to make sure that if
9:38you need a deadline extension it's not
9:40the day of it could be the day before
9:42your deadline but try to do it as early
9:44as you can but they're not going to give
9:46you a couple weeks they're going to give
9:47you a few days so anytime you get a
9:49deadline extension expect it to be a few
9:52days not a week not two weeks but a few
9:54days and you want to make sure you're
9:56planning your work appropriately so
9:58don't take something where it's like a
9:5948 hour turnaround and then you need a
10:01deadline extension like you you needed a
10:03deadline extension before you ever asked
10:05for that so look for things right that
10:07are at least a twoe turnaround if you
10:10need a deadline extension because
10:11something happens because something will
10:13happen at some point then you can ask
10:15for that deadline extension as soon as
10:17possible don't wait till the day of try
10:19not to do it the day before do it you
10:21know the Monday before or as early as
10:24possible as you can but being um really
10:28uh communicating this to your editors
10:29and your clients that makes a huge
10:31difference it helps with reliability
10:33because clients and editors still get
10:35ghosted and you don't want to be one of
10:37those people who just ghosts them and
10:39just leaves um even if you're going to
10:41turn in the assignment you want to be
10:42upfront and clear with them so make sure
10:44that you're you know giving them the
10:45heads up on that number two here number
10:48two so make sure that from the very
10:51beginning of the time you start working
10:52with a magazine or you start working
10:54with a business client that you're on
10:55the same page you know your
10:56personalities are a fit or they like
10:58your story idea and the focus you they
11:00don't have any other questions or
11:02experts to recommend which is usually
11:03with magazines or um you know when you
11:06get on your initial call with a business
11:08client however they're acting makes
11:10sense and works for you because however
11:12your client editor magazine whatever
11:15however they act on that initial
11:16communication that's how they act
11:18throughout the whole relationship
11:20nothing magically changes when they sign
11:21a contract or give you an assignment or
11:24do something else so we want to make
11:25sure that however they act assume that's
11:28that's how it's going to be for ever so
11:30if they're disrespectful if they won't
11:31negotiate with you um if they are not a
11:34personality fit if it's really difficult
11:36to talk to them or get them to get on
11:38the same page that's how it's going to
11:40be for the whole project and this also
11:43means that when we're getting on these
11:45calls and we're talking to them
11:46initially you need to set boundaries
11:48about like what they can expect in terms
11:50of deadlines now magazines are a little
11:51bit different you kind of have to roll
11:53with their deadlines sometimes you can
11:55suggest a a dead different one and get a
11:57couple days on there but
11:59most of the time you're going with their
12:01deadline schedule um but you want to be
12:03careful about response times magazines I
12:05would tra like try as much as you can to
12:08hit that editor back in 24 hours uh
12:11business clients I would make it a
12:12little bit longer because they can get
12:14like treat you like a full-time employee
12:16if you're answering really quickly all
12:17the time so from the very beginning
12:20we're setting expectations about
12:21response time uh when you're working
12:23when you respond to things where you
12:25respond to them um and setting those
12:27boundaries around our work hours
12:29number one number one thing that I think
12:31gets forgotten a lot of times when we're
12:33talking about keeping clients in the
12:34loop or we're building long-term
12:36relationships is that you're going to
12:37make mistakes you're going to do weird
12:39things you're going to say awkward
12:41things you're going to have difficult
12:42clients and this happens so I'm going to
12:44tell you a quick story when I was um
12:48when I was first kind of starting out as
12:51uh well not starting out but I was like
12:53in my career and I um said this is
12:57always like my favorite thing so when I
12:59sent out my holiday things I sent out
13:00holiday emails to thank my clients for
13:03being my client and there was like a
13:05couple parts that I just copied and
13:06pasted in and instead of saying it was a
13:08pleasure to work with you I said it's
13:10been pleasuring or something to work
13:12with you or it's been pleasuring to work
13:14with you some very uncomfortable typo
13:16and I still got work from it I still got
13:18people you know sending me work even
13:20though I made a typo so I think you're
13:22going to say weird things you're going
13:24to make a typo there's auto correct
13:25there's all kinds of things so um you
13:27can handle it you can get through
13:29through it um I don't I think part of
13:31communication is like owning mistakes or
13:33being able to laugh it off or um being
13:36clear but I think really he when um when
13:39you're in this situation you want
13:40basically want to listen so if your
13:42clients's really upset you want to
13:43listen to them and hear them out um from
13:46the very beginning you want to listen to
13:47your clients's expectations and what
13:49they want and you want to be able to
13:51respond to them uh we want to be able to
13:53take feedback especially from our
13:54magazine clients and listen to what
13:56they're asking us to do and then like if
13:58you you if you make a mistake and your
14:01client fires you like that happens or if
14:03you decide that this client is not a fit
14:05for you you can fire them too but
14:07there's a lot of times where um when
14:10we're going through these things that
14:12we're building relationships on being
14:14like authentic real people and authentic
14:16real people are not robots they make
14:18mistakes so it's okay to make mistakes
14:20it's going to happen just understand how
14:23you can troubleshoot it and how you can
14:25kind of move forward so I hope that this
14:27has been helpful and in our next video
14:29we're going to go over kind of more
14:30about that client management uh in terms
14:33of expectations so I'm going to teach
14:35you a little bit about how to overd
14:36deliver but not overpromise uh how to
14:39make sure that you're on the same page
14:41and that you're uh really doing a good
14:43job managing all of your clients in a
14:45great way so I hope this has been
14:46helpful and I will see you in the next
14:47one

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